'Trees' fill Buckley Center Gallery

By Jennifer Rillamas, Page Designer -- rillamas15@up.edu

UP is surrounded by trees. It should be obvious enough, but in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it's easy to let the beauty of nature go unnoticed.

Sometimes all it takes is a look at nature through somebody else's eyes to get that kind of appreciation back.

Thanks to local Portland artists Scott Johnson and Andrea Benson, the UP community has the opportunity to view nature from a different perspective through the new Buckley Center Gallery exhibit, "There Was a Tree."

The exhibit features paintings of landscapes by Johnson in watercolor and works of trees and logs by Benson in encaustic.

Johnson, who has shown his artwork in galleries in places such as California, Japan and New Zealand, works with watercolors.

"Part of my process is creating a story," Johnson said. "It's also a process of staring at the work and deciding what to do next. Like all artwork, it involves a lot of hours of staring and lots of coffee sipping."

Johnson's process is tedious. His first application is a basic sketch with water. He then tries to recognize an image or a landscape within it. After that, he lets the paper dry completely and continues with the second coat and beyond to build an image. Finally, he puts a tree in it.

"Once you do one brushstroke, you are committed to the length of that branch," Johnson said. "This is the part where you put a little down and step away to stare at it many times."

Johnson became friends with Benson three years ago when he moved into Troy Studios in southeast Portland, where the artists currently work.

"I became really intrigued by her processes," Johnson said.

Benson expressed an appreciation for Johnson's art.

"One of the things I really like about Scott's artwork is that it's a lot like Hansel and Gretel," Benson said. "There's this quality to it that makes me feel like I'm walking into a fairy tale. I like being able to get lost in a painting."

Freshman Chika Eke agrees with Benson about Johnson's artwork.

"I feel like I can become part of the paintings," Eke said. "They really draw you in with all of the colors and the realness of the trees."

In her own artwork, Benson uses a technique called Encaustic painting. She makes her own paint by mixing a combination of beeswax, dry paint pigments and tree sap resin.

To apply this kind of paint, she keeps the paint and paintbrushes on an electric griddle that is set at 225 degrees. After a few brush strokes, she takes a torch to melt the layers together to create one unit of colored wax.

"It's like being a crazy cook," Benson said. "It combines science and art."

The real story behind Benson's pieces comes from her personal life.

"My parents are in their 80s and their health is disintegrating," Benson said. "I myself have hit this point where I'm realizing that my body is hurting and changing as well. Part of these pieces feels like the acknowledgement that things fall apart and dissolve and that you have to make it beautiful and lovely."

Johnson and Benson have found ways to bring their different mediums together. Featured in the BC Gallery is a piece titled "Comingle" that the artists did together for the Sitka Art Invitational at the World Forestry center.

Pat Bognar, curator of the Buckley Center Gallery, hopes students will benefit from the exhibit.

"It's important for people to have easy access to art," Bognar said. "Being in a space with art is a refuge. This space is a wonderful place for students to come and sit, regroup and relax."

To view more of both Johnson and Benson's artwork, visit the Waterstone Gallery in the Pearl District.

Johnson and Benson will be on campus March 2 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. for a closing reception of the gallery.

The gallery runs from Feb. 13 to March 8 and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.